The first time I really paid any attention to Caitlin Clark, it was during the NCAA championship game for women’s basketball, and there was a pop-culture “incident” between Clark and Angel Reese during the game. The incident involved two highly competitive college athletes on different sides, one white and one black, making the exact same “you can’t see me” gesture, yet only one of them was called “classless” and “ghetto.” That actually became a defining moment for both Angel and Caitlin and set up their narratives after their college careers.
Caitlin turned pro after she graduated this year, and after a middling start on the WNBA’s Indiana Fever (she wasn’t picked for the Olympic team), she’s actually doing really well right now. I’ve actually never seen anything like the hype around Clark – white people go absolutely feral for her, and Clark is credited with bringing lots of new fans to women’s basketball. Clark has quickly become a cipher for white supremacists, often being propped up as “the good one” compared to the rest of the WNBA, most of whom are women of color. There were widespread rumors that Clark and the people close to her were politically conservative, if not outright MAGA. And then something happened this week: Caitlin Clark liked Taylor Swift’s Instagram endorsement of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. Suddenly, white people were very disappointed in their perfect white angel:
Them folks in Caitlin Clark’s IG comments withdrawing their support for her cuz she liked Taylor Swift’s post endorsing Kamala. pic.twitter.com/HzItUSyHEC
— Kevín (@KevOnStage) September 12, 2024
Caitlin was asked about liking the Instagram – which is still there, she didn’t “unlike” it or claim that her finger slipped – during a Fever presser on Wednesday:
WNBA rookie standout Caitlin Clark is speaking up about her decision to like Taylor Swift’s Instagram endorsement of Kamala Harris.
“I have this amazing platform, so I think the biggest thing would be just encourage people to register to vote,” Clark, 22, said to reporters during her media availability on Wednesday, Sept. 11, a day after Swift posted her backing of Harris on the social media platform.
The Indiana Fever rookie added, “That’s the biggest thing I can do with the platform that I have, and that’s the same thing Taylor [Swift] did.”
While Clark stopped short of offering her own endorsement, she emphasized the importance of voters’ rights. “Continue to educate yourself on the candidates that we have,” she said, “The policies that they’re supporting — I think that’s the biggest thing you can do. And that’s what I would recommend to every single person that has the opportunity [to vote] in our country.”
Though she didn’t officially endorse either presidential candidate, Clark is now courting controversy from followers on her Instagram account, many of whom have criticized the WNBA star for dipping her toe into political waters.
I mean… I’m actually really proud of her for not backing down or making excuses. She’s treating this like: it is what is, you can read whatever you want into it. She’s not “courting controversy” by advocating for voter education and getting out to vote. But sure, it absolutely looks like she’s quietly supporting the Harris-Walz ticket. Good for her! I wonder if all of those new Clark-centered WNBA fans are going to leave in droves.
PS… Even before all of this, you know who was one of Caitlin Clark’s biggest fans? LeBron. He’s been hyping the sh-t out of her for a while.
CAITLIN CLARK!!!!! HI HATERS
— LeBron James (@KingJames) August 31, 2024
Photos courtesy of Cover Images.
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- Caitlin Clark on Good Morning America to talk about being 1st pick of 2024 WNBA draft Featuring: Caitlin Clark Where: New York, United States When: 16 Apr 2024 Credit: Roger Wong/INSTARimages
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- Caitlin Clark on Good Morning America to talk about being 1st pick of 2024 WNBA draft Featuring: Caitlin Clark Where: New York, United States When: 16 Apr 2024 Credit: Roger Wong/INSTARimages
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- Celebrities attending the WNBA game where the WNBA’s Washington Mystics host the Indiana Fever at the Capital One Arena. Featuring: Caitlin Clark Where: Washington, District Of Columbia, United States When: 07 Jun 2024 Credit: Media Punch/INSTARimages
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- Celebrities attending the WNBA game where the WNBA’s Washington Mystics host the Indiana Fever at the Capital One Arena. Featuring: Caitlin Clark Where: Washington, District Of Columbia, United States When: 07 Jun 2024 Credit: Media Punch/INSTARimages
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- 2024 WNBA All Star Game at Footprint Center. Featuring: Caitlin Clark Where: Phoenix, Arizona, United States When: 20 Jul 2024 Credit: MediaPunch/INSTARimages
It doesn’t say anything good about people who complain it’s bad or “courting controversy” she’s encouraging people to educate themselves, pay attention, and vote.
Those people are telling on themselves so much.
If Clark’s so-called fans want to watch a bunch of MAGA conservatives play, they’re watching the wrong fcking sport.
Exactly. They’ve got the wrong sport. Why haven’t they gone off when they heard Clark hype her black teammates in the post game interviews? Clark and Angel Reese were happy to team up against the Olympians, they worked really well together, did that upset them? Move on, there’s plenty of real Clark fans left who aren’t racist idiots.
This is what I’ve been waiting for! You cannot support women’s sports and athletes while taking away women’s rights.
These weirdos don’t see the most basic of connections.
They need to change to the golf channel.
If this will stop her being the avatar for white supremacists then I’m all for it.
It’s not her fault she was born in Iowa lol.
It doesn’t matter where she was born. She’s being used by white supremacists and “fans” to attack black players in the WNBA, especially Angel Reese.
I remember the incident with CC and AR. CC is from Iowa, attended college there and plays in Indiana…I understand why so many of her fans were under the impression that she was a Trump supporter (and I would have believed that too not knowing anything about her). I have Democrat relatives who live in Trump territory—what CC did by hinting support for Harris-Walz is courageous and commendable.
I find it surprising that people assumed she was MAGA. Maybe it’s just where I live, but I don’t know many college educated women in ther early 20’s that are MAGA, that demographic seems to lean democrat pretty heavily.
I wonder how she feels finding out a lot of her fans weren’t actually her fans. Anywho, I think she handled this well.
I’ve followed her for a long time. In Iowa, she was known for her volunteer work with the local food bank and doing things to encourage girls in sports. I’ve never suspected she was MAGA.
A significant portion of CC’s “fans” utilized her as a medium to express animosity towards Black WNBA players, particularly Angel Reese. They seized every opportunity to disparage Angel and even Brittney Griner under the guise of supporting Caitlin. Additionally, her avid fandom of Taylor Swift didn’t come as a surprise when she liked her Instagram post. Perhaps she’ll exercise more wisdom in avoiding the trope of the white woman as a damsel in distress that she sometimes embodied.
Yes, even before this happened, it definitely seemed like a huge reason a lot of her fans liked her was that she wasn’t Black, and “supporting” her gave them an opportunity for racist lashing out.
She is also a known TS fan. White tears are sooo exhausting.
“White tears are sooo exhausting.” Exactly. Caitlin Clark probably had no idea how many white people were using her to project their bias, prejudice, separatism and blatant racism on. She probably has a better idea now, but she became a household name pretty quickly in college. The people who should be ashamed of their actions are all the white bigots projecting their white hopes on an unknown entity, when they should have done their research on her. There’s video of Clark getting a hug from her childhood idol Maya Moore back in March, plus this recent story: https://www.indystar.com/story/sports/basketball/wnba/fever/2024/08/24/caitlin-clark-remembers-maya-moore-hug-that-spurred-her-love-of-basketball-minnesota-lynx-fever/74881401007/
I mean the WNBA is a bunch of tall, muscular women athletes who’ve been told also their lives that they look and act like men. More than a third of them are unapologetically queer; a large majority of them are Black women. It’s unlikely a MAGA woman would choose to spend her life in that environment. She’d play a ladylike sport, like tennis, or ring-chasing.
Yeah exactly. People have a tendency to kinda lump all sports together but there’s a marked difference between the politics of the NFL (conservative) the NHL (conservative-leaning), the NBA (liberal) the WNBA (liberal) and MLB (conservative-moderate).
Plus college-educated white women tend to lean left so it’s not all that surprising that Cait would support Harris.
ITA, @Kitten.
Also, the experience of playing any sport at an elite level requires women to reject traditional gender roles—that we’re supposed to be soft, deferential, and very concerned about what men think of us. Women get criticism from strangers, acquaintances, and loved ones for being: too tall, too strong, too muscular, too aggressive, and generally for being “like men.” If you commit to your sport, by definition you’re going to have to find ways to feel great about yourself and reject that programming.
I’m sure that’s a big part of why so many proud queer women are in elite sports—it’s easier for them not to gaf what men think of them.
Even in adult recreational soccer and hockey leagues, ime I’d say half or nearly half the women are queer, so the straight women just can’t have a problem with that.
“Women get criticism from strangers, acquaintances, and loved ones for being: too tall, too strong, too muscular, too aggressive, and generally for being “like men.” If you commit to your sport, by definition you’re going to have to find ways to feel great about yourself and reject that programming.”
This is a very astute and well-articulated point. And I do think the WNBA is different than any of the male leagues because of what you said here: women in pro-sports are almost always inherently minorities and in a sense, misfits. Being part of what is seen as an out-group naturally leads to a lot of intense bonding as they battle against in-group norms and expectations. There’s a lot of loyalty, love, and acceptance born out of that camaraderie.
And I’ll add people keep saying she’s from Iowa like that means she’s of course MAGA – some of the most liberal people I know are from Iowa lol. A college friend of mine from there went to work for the DNC for a few years after college. Of course it votes red but it has pockets of liberalism.
My husband is from northeast Iowa and for 8 years, I’ve gone back there every year. It’s changed a LOT, sadly. Even in 2016 it was a purple state that felt very close to flipping blue. Sadly, Trump changed all that. From my perspective, I’ve watched my husb’s family become more and more conservative. Not a ton of jobs out there–recent John Deere layoffs were devastating and now Gov Reynolds planning to deport their work force will likely lead to a massive collapse of the agricultural industry. Sky-rocketing rates of Cancer from chemical run-offs from large industrial farms and an aging population that leads to a shrinking workforce…big red state probs for sure.
But I do agree that there are deeply-liberal pockets in IA. My hub calls NE Iowa the blueberry on a cherry pie. I just wish there were fewer cherries and more blueberries. Even with a GOP governor, having a Dem legislature would really help to keep her ass in check…
I was kind of thinking the same thing, wouldn’t the vast majority of the WNBC be anti-MAGA? And I’m also highly doubting that a bunch of MAGATS were attending WNBA games, so who cares if they bail?
MAGA folks only like Clark because they wanted to cast her in the role of delicate white lady in distress, whom racists could defend against mean Angel Reece’s scandalous “you can’t see me” hand gesture. (Clark said she doesn’t have a problem with trash talk or Reece’s hand gesture—indeed, she’s a legendary trash-talker herself—but she didn’t call out the racism.)
They also like Clark because she’s straight.
Racists are always looking for a GWH of basketball or any other sport that Black people dominate.
Whew the double standard. She is articulating (quite well for the record) the importance of voting. The NFL is running ads promoting this in every single game. But women can’t be encouraging getting educated no sireeee we want our women folk MAGA quiet. Good for her. Let those white supremists move on to the next incel fantasy.
They don’t want women to vote.
W fans, the ones who support the entire league not just CC, have been screaming for months that her fans were racist, homophobic and misogynistic. Instead of being called out for their behavior, there’s been silence as her fans have terrorized and maligned Angel & anybody playing with and against her. So now the truth comes out. They were for her when they thought she was their white supremacist princess coming to slay the majority Black & queer WNBA. And why wouldn’t they think that when she’s silent, her boyfriend and brother are liking negative, nasty posts against Angel.
Yay for CC standing by her like and Whoo hooing for GOTV.
That first paragraph! 🔥
Only idiots thought the people around her were MAGA…it’s always been psychotic online fans who were driving that particular bus and using her as their avatar simply because she’s white and from Iowa. Her boyfriend has been liking & retweeting pro-Kamala stuff for awhile and worked for the Pacers (just announced he’s moving to the college coaching ranks at Butler, neither of these places tend to be super MAGA-y). Her idol is Maya Moore, ffs, and you cannot separate Maya Moore of all people from her basketball career and social justice work. She grew up dreaming of playing in the WNBA which has always been a league where the stars speak out.
Anyway her real fans dont seem to care about her politics or agree with her (let’s be real most of these dipshit maga dirtbags are not going to WNBA games no matter what they say, they just sit online being jackholes) and considering I live in Indy and go to most Fever games, I can tell you that everyone was as excited as always to see her play and cheer for her on Wednesday.
All the racist are mad. I remember a time when no one cared about who you voted for. Ever since Trump ascended down those gold elevators is either you have to be normal or MAGA
I’m seeing lots of bots swarming accounts. Smells desperate.
I have been saddened that so many white supremacists had attached themselves to Clark because I’ve really never had the impression that she shared their ignorance and bigotry. I suspect she saw a way to rid herself of their noxious stigma and took it. Good for her!
Clark isn’t the first white woman the racists tried to claim. I read that the other players immediately released statements when the racists tried them and attacked other black players using their name. What was different with Clark, she stayed silent when that happened. That is why everyone assumed she and her family were MAGA and one of them. I don’t know, if the racists claimed me, I would scream from the rooftop to tell them to f*ck off.
Iirc @Sevenblue she gave a statement saying she had no problem with Angel Reece or the hand gesture, and she said trash talk was part of the game. She didn’t explicitly call out the racism, tho.
So I wouldn’t say she was totally silent, but yeah she could have clapped back against the racists saying she didn’t want their support, and didn’t.
@Oh come on., I think that statement came much later, when the conversation settled down somewhat. The hits Angel got brutal and Clark didn’t put out a statement immediately, just watched. That is why other players didn’t take her statement seriously. And like you said, she didn’t put a clear statement against racists (her fans) attacking her fellow players. I saw other players’ (who are white women) statements clearly denouncing any type of racists attacks made in their name. She didn’t do that.
I’m never one to deny acts of white women privilege, but I think we can grant Clark a little grace here. She was a college athlete who just wanted to play the game she loves, who went from relative obscurity to phenom and household name practically overnight. Suddenly she’s faced with the same expectations we place on seasoned, male pro athletes who enjoy much more support from their league. Ultimately, I don’t think she was properly prepared to handle the public backlash as a 20 year old college athlete.
I mean, she didn’t even get an agent until last year. Now she has a team of people from agent to PR person to help her navigate the sudden fame and I think you’ll see her being much more cognizant of her actions and protective of her brand. Lightly dipping into politics is just the first step in that direction.
@Kitten, it isn’t so hard to say racism is bad and racists can get the f*ck out. Angel was also too young to deal with all that sh*t storm. You don’t need a whole team of PR experts to post an anti-racist statement in this SM environment. It is nothing to do with politics, but morals and right and wrong.
Yep @Sevenblue ITA. Clark could and should have done more to reject the white supremacists’ support. I don’t see her as a hero or a villain, just a regular white athlete who doesn’t care that much about politics and just wants to play her sport in peace without being forced to take a stand.
I tend to think of TS the same way, though style points for the content and timing of her endorsement.
I mean, if you wanna hate her forever because she didn’t come out quickly enough to denounce the folks who essentially used her likeness to uphold racist beliefs then I’m not gonna stop you. I’m not like a super fan or anything lol.
She should have said something but didn’t–we agree.
But I have a different impression of Clark than you do and I expect that she’ll continue to be an incredible athlete, but with a more polished, professional, and politically conscious public image. Ultimately, I think most Americans will forgive her for not saying what she should have when she was a 20 year old college athlete. She’s still very young and can easily change the public perception of her.
@Kitten, lol of course Americans will not give a f*ck that she never denounced her racist fans. That isn’t surprising or unprecedented. It is a sad fact. By the way, I don’t hate her. I don’t spend my time hating on people. I just don’t give a sh*t about people who don’t do the right thing, especially when it is very easy to do so. It is a little weird to call someone “hater” for pointing out a white woman’s privilege to stay silent against her racist supporters.
These women are getting harassed for their political support. How f@cking upside down is this???
“It’s disappointing. Everybody in our world deserves the same amount of respect … People should not be using my name to push those agendas.”
Clark did say get my name out your mouth in association with racism and misogyny. She’s been PR brilliant. And anyone that actually watches the W thinking this girl would be some staunch republican is seriously lol. I guess people just aren’t paying attention to reality.